


Three Times Tony Forgot Rhodey's First Name

by azpotter



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Irondad & Spiderson, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, Light Angst, Minor Tony Stark/Mary Fitzpatrick, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, rated for language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:41:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25294090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azpotter/pseuds/azpotter
Summary: And the one (important) time he remembered.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 5
Kudos: 242





	Three Times Tony Forgot Rhodey's First Name

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fanfic on AO3 and first time writing for Marvel. Hope you enjoy!

_ “Hi, I’m James Rhodes.” _

_ “Something Rhodes. I’m gonna call you Rhodey.” _

i.

There are three things you can count on to be at college parties. Booze, sex, and heartbreak. Tony was familiar with booze; hadn’t had a chance to encounter sex yet (apparently being underage is a turn off); but managed to have his heart broken anyway.

This party seems like any other. Some dude named Sean is throwing it. Sean, such a dude name that makes no sense. Why is it pronounced “Shaawn” but spelled so weird?. It was his “I got a D, but passed the class” party.

As Tony is getting another cup of… something (he lost track of what he was drinking three cups ago), he hears his name shouted.

“Stark!”

“Yeah,” Tony responds. He turns to see Sean waving at him, beckoning him over.

“I heard Vicky Arnold was looking for you.”

“Vicky Arnold? Looking for me?” Vicky Arnold was popular, but in a freshman way. The freshmen knew who she was, the upperclassmen thought she was hot. But as a freshman, maybe she doesn’t think Tony is too young. And Tony had to admit, she was gorgeous. Definitely worth losing his virginity to.

“Yeah, heard her say she’s looking for the smart kid.” Well, at least she said smart and not young? Tony will take what he can get.

“Oh, I’ll go find her.” Tony responds, looking around for her. He spots her on the patio with some of her friends. As he heads that way, he tries to make his hair look unkempt. That should make him look older. Though if you asked Rhodey, his baby face negates any effort.

“Hey Vicky! Heard you were looking for me?” Tony says, as he gets within earshot of her.

“Oh hey! I’ve been wanting to ask you something for a while now,” Vicky responds. Tony feels hope swell in his heart. Maybe she really doesn’t think he’s too young.

“Yeah? What’s up?” Tony says, trying to act nonchalant.

“Where’s James?”

“Where’s who?” Tony couldn’t comprehend what just happened. Why is she asking about another guy? Who is this James anyway?

“You know, James? The guy you’re always with?” She says, puzzled. Isn’t he supposed to be smart?

“Umm,” Tony gestures around him. He’s alone. Anyone within his vicinity is someone she knows. He has no idea who these people are.

“Fine, most of the time. Your roommate?” Vicky says, exasperated.

“Rhodey?” Tony asks, slowly recognizing where the conversation is headed.

“James Rhodes, yeah! Where is he?” Vicky exclaims, excitedly.

“He’s in our dorm. Said something about a final. Look, I gotta go. I promised him I’d help him study.” Tony rushes out, eager to get away from her.

“Oh, well, can you tell him I was asking about him?” She asks hopefully.

“Um, sure, I guess.”

“Thanks! Have fun studying!” And with that, she turns back to her friends.

Tony heads back to his dorm, ready for the night to be over. As he opens the door, he sees Rhodey sitting at his desk, studying. Rhodey looks up, takes one look at Tony and says, “What happened?”

“Vicky was asking about you. I told her you were too busy being a nerd.” Tony respondes, acting like nothing is the problem.

“Oh, yeah I heard she’s been trying to corner me. Wants to ask me out so she can have me meet her parents. Something about showing them she has a black boyfriend.”

“Oh. That doesn’t seem right.”

“It’s not. It’s why I’ve been avoiding her. Thanks for telling her I’m a nerd. Maybe she’ll back off.”

“Doubt it.” Somehow, this conversation made him feel better. No matter the heartache, he’d always have his Rhodey.

ii.

Christmas time at the Stark household was never fun, but especially now that Tony had a best friend. A friend who’s family sounded way better than the cold dinner he was currently having with his parents. He was hoping he could find a way to get out of dinner, but his dad’s glare kept him in place.

“So how has college been, Tony?” His mom asks, trying to start a conversation. 

“Good.”

“Did you make any friends?”

“Yes.”

“How are they? Are they enjoying school?”

“Yes.”

“Friends? You better be studying than partying, I’m not spending my money on a dropout because he was too busy partying.” His father decided to chime in. Really, all that was missing in this conversation was his father’s input. Now it’s here. The conversation is complete.

“Howard, it’s Christmas,” his mom tries interjecting.

“So? He needs to know what we expect of him.” His dad says, effectively stopping his mother’s involvement.

“Sir, there is a phone call for Young Sir here. From a James.” Jarvis’ voice interrupts before Tony could dig a hole to get out of this conversation.

“James? Who’s that?” Tony asks.

“I’m not familiar, Young Sir. He claims to be a friend of yours from college.” Jarvis responds.

“Oh, well I better get that. Excuse me.” Tony hurriedly says, eager to get away from his parents.

Jarvis leads Tony to the kitchen and points at the phone. “There really is a phone call for you from James.”

“Hello?” Tony says into the microphone.

“Hey Tones! Merry Christmas!” Tony hears Rhodey’s voice from the speaker.

“Hey Rhodey! Merry Christmas! How’s the Rhodes family?”

“They’re good. Mamma missed me and hogged me for a while. Finally got a chance to get away to check up on you. How are you holding up, man?” Rhodey’s voice was concerned, but Tony didn’t wanna ruin his Christmas too.

“It’s good. Catching up with the rents, the usual. Tell me about Mamma Rhodey.” Tony said, silently asking for a topic change. Rhodey complies and Tony spends the rest of dinner talking to Rhodey about his family.

iii.

Tony had been trying to avoid people. He needed to get this weapon completed before the military started hounding him. He really needed another cup of coffee. Where was the cup he had been drinking from? Tony looked around, but couldn’t spot that red cup. Where was it? Did someone come in here? No, he would have noticed that, right? Besides, the only people allowed down here were himself, Rhodey, and --

“Mr. Stark, James is here to see you.”

Pepper had started working for Tony a few months ago. She is the only one to have lasted as long as she had. She kept up with him, but also didn’t let him get away with too much shit. She was kinda perfect. 

“Huh? Oh hi Pepper. Have you seen my coffee cup?” Tony asks, distracted.

“Sir, when was the last time you slept?” Pepper inquires, gently.

“Hmmm, not sure. I swear, the cup was right here.” Tony gestures to his desk.

“Sir, I really think you should sleep. I’ll tell James you’re not available right now.” Pepper tries interjecting.

“No, no, I’m fine. I just need some coffee and I’ll be good as new. As soon as I can find that cup!” Tony says, still looking around the lab.

“Maybe you should look at your hand, Mr. Stark.” Pepper says, pointing at Tony’s left hand.

“Well, wouldn’t you know it. I had it the whole time!” Tony exclaims, happy to find his cup. “Wait, did you say someone wanted to see me? Tell them I’m too busy.”

“Yes sir, James wanted to see you.”

“Who’s James?”

“Really Tones, after all these years, you still don’t know my name?” Tony hears one of his favorite voices.

“Rhodey! What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming back til the 15th!” Tony cries out as he heads to Rhodey to give him a hug.

“Tones, it is the 15th. Don’t tell me you’ve been skipping sleep again. You can’t keep doing this.” Rhodey says in a voice that held some disappointment, but mostly concern.

“I’m fine. I’m almost done with the prototype. You’ll love this!” Tony says, showing Rhodey what he’s been working on. Rhodey follows reluctantly.

+1

When Tony got the call, he never expected to be stuck in traffic, of all places.

“Happy, you gotta hurry!”

“I’m trying, New York traffic is the worst.” Happy responds, as he zigzaggs his way through traffic.

“Try harder. We need to get to the hospital, like yesterday.”

Saying Tony was anxious was an understatement. He found out three months ago that he was about to be a father. At first, Tony didn’t believe it. He may be drunk, but he’s smart enough to use protection. Turns out, they’re not 100% effective. Who knew? Everyone? Oh.

Mary Fitzpatrick was in a Queens hospital, about to give birth to his son.  _ His son. _ That still feels weird. Maybe once he can see the baby, it will be more real. It feels pretty real right now. But also, not. Tony shakes his head. He can’t make heads or tails on his feelings right now. Other than that he  _ needs  _ to get to the hospital  _ right now! _

“Are we there yet?”

“What are you, three? We’re almost there!” Happy responds, not happily. Tony snickers, that always cracks him up. Or maybe it’s just right now, while he’s  _ freaking the fuck out! _

Six hours later, finds Tony in the nursery. He’s looking at the little crib that holds his son.  _ His son. Nope, still weird. _ Tony looks at his face. He looks like an angel.  _ How did I help create this masterpiece? _

He hears a soft voice coming from behind, “Hey.”

“Hey Mary. How are you?” Tony angles his body a little towards her, but he can’t take his eyes off  _ his son _ .

“Better, now that I’m not actively pushing a baby out of my body.” Tony remembers what drew him to her. She’s charming, even if she’s brutally honest.

“I can’t stop looking at him. I never believed in love at first sight, but this baby.  _ He’s everything. _ ” Tony whispers, afraid of waking  _ his son. _

“He is so precious. How do we make sure we don’t ruin him?” Mary whispers as she looks at  _ their son _ . Yup, still weird.

“I don’t know. I’m known for ruining things.” Tony responds. “The nurse asked if we have a name picked out for him.” Tony continues. He can’t dwell on potentially ruining  _ his son’s _ life. He won’t be able to get up in the morning if he continues down that path. Rhodey already had to bring him out once.

“I’ve always loved the name Peter. Peter Rabbit was my favorite story as a kid. Truthfully, I also bought a stuffed rabbit for him, for this reason.” Mary whispers, lightly caressing  _ his son’s, Peter’s _ , face. 

“I have a name for his middle name, if that’s ok?” Tony admits.

“Yeah? I’m all ears.” Mary was always receptive to his choices, even if he knew she had the final say.

An hour later, Tony has  _ Peter _ in his arms as Rhodey comes into the nursery.

“Hey Tones, how’s my favorite nephew?” Rhodey whispers, as he gets close to his new nephew.

“He’s your only nephew. And he’s good. Taking a nap after eating. Did you know eating is really tiring for babies? Tuckered himself out, this one.” Tony says, lightly swaying Peter.

“Did you guys name him yet?” Rhodey asks, gently.

“Yeah, we’ve decided on Peter.” Tony turns to look Rhodey in the eye. “ _ Peter James Stark _ .”

“You asshole.” Rhodey says, with tears in his eyes. “All these years, you couldn’t remember my first name. Now you name your son with it?”

“He’s named after you, honeybear. You’re my best friend. After all you’ve done for me, this is the least I could do. And if you accept, we’d like for you to be one of his godparents.”

“Me? Mary is ok with it?”

“She chose Ben and May as the other godparents. I get two. You and Pepper, if she agrees.”

“Of course. I’m gonna be the best uncle  _ ever _ .” Rhodey says, eyes still shining.

“You might have to fight that out with Ben.”

“Oh I will.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this story. The last story was bugging me until I got the idea for the rest.


End file.
